belfastgonzo

My guess is that Nintendo are doing what they occasionally do in legal matters - using one tool as a means to achieve something else.

For example, last week they got a YouTube video about the Switch flash cart taken down using a copyright strike, on the basis that the video contained a screen shot of their game. Nothing to do with the flash cart itself being able to copy games, although that was rather obviously the real target.

This I suspect is similar. For whatever reason, they have decided that Palworld represents some kind of threat to their IP, but the legal means to do anything could be very limited. Hence, the patent case. What will be interesting is what patents Nintendo says are being broken. There can't be many mechanics unique to Pokemon that haven't been copied somewhere in the past. And if Nintendo didn't take action in the past, then Palworld may actually have a chance.

I accidentally qualified for the UK Nintendo Players MK8 Deluxe Championship recently. Took the kids to a qualifier, and decided to enter for the laugh. Somehow ended up as runner up, beating my own two boys in the final. Think my youngest got blue shelled on the last bend of the final track, so yeah, that went down well...

Call me cynical, but maybe EA has got wind of legislation on loot boxes coming down the road. And EA, being even more cynical than me, knows that Fifa licence won't be printing the same amount of money in future. Fifa should be ashamed of itself for enabling child gambling, so I hope they both take a hit.

The white Japanese PC Engine was the first console I ever bought. It was a grey import, and I only had 3 games... R-Type, Dragon Spirit and Wonder Boy in Monsterland, which was tough to play in Japanese. Great wee console. Can't wait. I still play R-Type (badly!)

After seeing the trailer, I've been calling it the Sonic the Rat movie.

Now that the Wii Shop is dead, Nintendo could offer Wii and Gamecube games in the Switch shop. After all, they have launched Super Mario Galaxy on the Nvidia Shield in China, and that uses a very similar chip to the Switch. I thought maybe this was an experiment to oave the way for Wii games on Switch, and the joycons could easily replicate Wiimotes.

@Stargazer Increasing $2.99 by 230% is $9.87. It's much more... almost 569%.

According to this analysis, you'd be better off flipping a coin than paying attention to Pachter's advice: https://www.tipranks.com/analysts/michael-pachter

@kuliddar Yep, finally got my first games room since I was 11 when I married in my late 30s. Now my sons rule that roost during the day... but it's mine when they go to bed! Having said that, there is nothing quite like your kid asking to play one of your older consoles with you. Quite a bonding experience, even if they do occasionally break something. Now THAT is a parenting test!

Is it possible to set up a US account on Switch, download the game cheaply from the US eshop, and then just play it on your regular UK account?

@Razer Not really. I have 3 young kids, but none of them will be paying anything. So £31.49 Being aged under 11, they don't pay for Xbox live either, and that was around £26, with as many accounts as we like (I was wrong... the difgerwnce not actually as much as a tenner). Xbox live offers cloud saves and modern free games too, and while Nes games are a novelty for 5 minutes, they won't cut the mustard in our house, sorry! Most kids couldn't care less about 8 bit games I'm afraid.

People keep arguing that this is a cheap service compared to others. Yet for those of us who share a Switch (ie, families) and need a family account, I just bought a year on Xbox Live for almost a tenner less than the Nintendo 'family' account costs. So not such great value for many...

Is it time to dig out the old Donkey Kongo bongos and Gamecube to USB adapter last used on Super Smash Bros?

Thimbleweed Park and Renegade... cos I never left the 80s.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE ... Ironically a problem that Retro Gamer doesn't have, as all it's news is decades old!

I played this a bit on the PSP. Lots of nice retro references. And good fun.

While the comment about Iwata was unwarranted - how would Lorne really know the background - there is a valid debate. Is Nintendo putting prohibitive conditions on indie developers? Or are they expecting too much leeway on a new platform, especially after the poor performance of Wii U? I feel he has a point, but was possibly over-egging the pudding a bit, which diminished his more salient arguments (and not just witj the Iwata comment). Here's another video which explores similar themes with a Switch title - worth watching: https://youtu.be/F4s71LCxS7M

Reading this fascinating article reminded me of a similar Digital Foundary one from 2014 about a frustrated developer trying to get a game out on Wii U. Worth a read if you have the time; it turned out to be quite prescient. Let's hope the Switch isn't a case of corporate history repeating.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-secret-developers-wii-u-the-inside-story

Bit unfair to suggest the slowdown might be an emulator problem if it happened on the original hardware. If it did, it means the emulator is more accurate, not less. Old arcade addicts like myself used to welcome a bit of slowdown as respite. I can remember even using it to my advantage by creating slowdown with multiples in some levels of this series.

Funny, I watched it with my 3 kids and the two little ones were bored by the series of men in suits. They only watched when the games came on - they loved seeing Splatoon 2, Mario and even the snatches Sonic. The oldest on is aged 10 and he was impressed by the RPGs, but the executives were utterly dull and occasionally cringe worthy. It felt like your uncle dancing at a wedding as he tried to be down with the kids. I can only assume the whole presentation was aimed at people other than those who might buy the system, ie the shareholders. And judging by how Nintendo's share price dipped afterwards, even they weren't impressed. It was a real disappointment after such a great advert in October.

Shovel Knight is actually £5.20. And Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival is £7.95 at The Game Collection.

I have to say the Nintendo deals are generally rubbish. I called into Game and they basically had none. If Nintendo is serious about shifting Wii Us before the switch comes out, it's probably best to price it BELOW the cost of a PS4 or Xbox one, not higher.

I found this video the other night and have to say I found it very interesting. Good production values too. I watched quite a few more of their vids over the next couple of days, and they are good. But I can't believe I am now spending hours watching videos about flippin CABLES! But surely every retro gamer has a few boxes of tangled cables in their man cave/ bedroom? It's not just me, right?

Right? Back me up! Lol!

@Shiryu You could always buy a PSP and softmod it!

@manu0 Good point. Jails these days are just full to the brim with PSP modders who have a Snes emulator. Barely a day goes by without some shifty-eyed so-called retro gaming fan getting sent down for a 10 stretch. Hangings too good for them.

Look at how the cost of the 3DS range is going through the floor. Console traders and shops aren't stupid. They know what's xoming, so they need to shift them now, before they get stuck with dead stock.

This guy from Nomura Securities deserves a Nobel Prize in Economics. He basically says the the next Nintendo will hurt sales of the old one. Genius. No-one would ever have thought that.

Next week: new iPhone spells sales disaster for old iPhone.

Am I the first to predict the Nintendo watch running the NX operating system? If so, you can thank me later.

No dark editions. Annoying for completists.

Is Minecraft Story Mode coming to the Wii U? Or do we have to wait three years longer than everyone else for that too?

Those are really the ONLY decent deals. The PS4 and Xbone are now the same price as a Wii U, which was crying out for a sub £200 price tag. Can't see too many parents picking up a Wii U off amazon if it can't beat those two... WTF Nintendo?!

Looks like my old Firefox F1 ... anyone remember that?

Compare the passion in this interview to the waffle spouted by the EA spokesman in the other article today. Hope this game is as good as it looks, but I'm convinced.

@Sean_Aaron wrote: "There is no reason why current limitations of people's internet connections couldn't be overcome by in-store kiosks where you could do the download and burn to disc or SD. "

You mean like the Nintendo Power cartridge in Japan during the Super Famicom era?

How Nintendo charge for games will be critical. As a family orientated company, they will suffer if they force countless micropayments out of kids. I'd rather pay a few quid upfront, knowing I get a complete game (for myself or my sons). Or go the Mario Kart 8 way and offer major DLC later. Also, wouldn't a Nintendo phone with a D-pad and buttons be nice to play the games on!? However that won't matter if all we're getting is Mario Candy Crush or Angry Yoshis...

I take it multiple copies are required for local multiplayer?

I'm still waiting the amiibo they 'dispatched' on September 23. Pretty sure I won't be getting a download code for that! !

Argh!

Nintendo might be creating a new problem for itself. Without a strong catalogue of games in the Wii U's final year or two, more and more owners will be buying a PS4 or Xbox One. I have three young boys, and the oldest, age eight, badly wants an Xbone. If he gets one for Christmas, it means its highly unlikely our house will be getting an NX the following year. Most games consoles have strong 3rd party support to take them through the system's final year, a period where those developers are also pushing the hardware and there is a glut of games before the older system is abandoned. None of this happening for Nintendo, and I fear it might hurt the next system launch.

I really wish Nintendo would make a Skylanders-type game where the characters actually burst into life on screen. And yes, I know that Superchargers will allow a couple of new amiibo to be used, but just makes me wonder why Nintendo don't do it themselves...